"I reached back with my hand and felt all these gashes on me, and there was blood running down my body and pooling in the boat," she added.

The shark attack was reported to be the second near Sarasota Bay this year, although they are relatively rare on the coast of Florida compared with the more perilous waters of Australia and South Africa.

However, the potential severity of any shark attack - even by smaller sharks like the bull - was underlined when doctors said that Mr Lynch's lungs were very nearly bitten through in the attack.